ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 37

Answer

Everyone who answered this quiz agreed that it was a dove. But then things became more complicated. In the ABA area, Mourning Dove is the most logical starting point, and it makes sense that this was the most frequent answer. But looking more closely, we see some things that aren't quite right. The underparts seem quite dark for a Mourning Dove. Furthermore, there is a small white patch in the wings that does not fit Mourning Dove. It also doesn't fit other regularly occurring species in the ABA area. Looking at a complete list of birds recorded in the ABA area, we see that one speices, the Zenaida Dove, does show this white patch to the base of the secondaries. Zenaida Doves are overall rather darker and shorter-tailed than Mourning Dove with a conspicuous white trailing edge to the secondaries.

While there are very few unequivocal records of Zenaida Dove in the ABA area (none since 3-6 May 2002, when recorded on Key Largo), there have been several sightings reported. This Zenaida Dove was photographed in Puerto Rico in February of 2006.

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The following people (listed by submission date beginning with the earliest) submitted correct answers for the April Bird Photo Quiz—Zenaida Dove:

Sarah DeViney, Jonesboro, AR

Aaron Bilyeu, Placerville, CA

Roberto Cavalieros, Brooklyn, NY

Bill Maynard, Colorado Springs, CO

Alan J. Knue, Seattle, WA

Henry Wilton, Rutland, VT

Aaron Hulsey, Smiths Grove, KY

John Kuenzli, Columbus, OH

Kyle Horner, Guelph, Ontario

Alex Vinokur, Casselberry, FL

Luke Seitz, Falmouth, ME

Michael Miller, Chicago, Illinois

Stephen Mitten, Belize City, Belize

Oscar Johnson, Santa Barbara, CA

Kai Reed, putney, Vt

Enrique Zamora, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

Jimmy Kirshberger, Liberty, IN

Chris Warren, Fort Collins, CO

Tim Avery, Salt Lake City, Utah

Will Richardson, Truckee, CA

Marcelo Brongo, Barcelona, Spain

Marcel Gauthier, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, Canada

Daniele Mitchell, Ottawa, Ontario

Will Miller, Boise, Idaho

Nick Anich, Ashland, WI

Andy Bankert, Melbourne Beach, FL

Robert Furrow, Cambridge, MA

Aaron Boone, Columbus, Ohio

Jessica Fischer-Smith, Lloyd Harbor, NY

Elizabeth Kania, Lloyd Harbor, NY

Seabrooke Leckie, Toronto, Ontario

Nancy Chen, Cambridge, MA

Dan Walker, Canyon, Texas

Trey Barron, Amarillo, TX

Kevin Kincaid, Indianapolis, IN

Brad Wilkinson, Tallmadge, Ohio

Kevin M. Hill, Phoenix, AZ

Michael Woodruff, Spokane, WA

Barb Duncan, Jefferson City, MO

Benjamin Griffith, Merrimack, NH

Joel Mundall, Loma Linda, CA

Richard Hibpshman, Issaquah, WA

Shaun Hicks, Morrisville, PA

Rob Young, Alexandria, VA

Matt Anthony, Bel Air, MD

Steve Hampton, Davis, CA

Timothy Baerwald, Eau Claire, Michigan

Craig Bateman, Novi, MI

Karen Rubinstein, New York, NY

Brian Ahern, Tampa, FL.

Yves Gauthier, Montreal, Qc, Canada

Jim Mountjoy, Galesburg IL

Gary W. Potter, Sanger, CA

Jon Mundall, Connell, WA

Alex Lin-Moore, Houston, TX

Matthew Kenne, Algona, Iowa

Karen Carlsen, Lakewood, CO

Philip Chaon, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Heather Collins, West Berlin, VT

Ben Young, Salem, OR

Aaron Brees, Des Moines, Iowa

Rich Swartzentruber, Salem, Oregon

Jeffrey Gordon, DE

Rachel King, Brooklyn NY

Richard Green, Brooklyn NY

Bertram E.B. BREE, Jersey Island, Near France

Colin Woolley, Prescott, AZ

Ben Coulter, Erie, PA

Colin R. Gjervold, Saint Petersburg, FL

Peter Osswald, Lindenhurst, N.Y.

Neil A. Gilbert, Beverly Hills, Mi

Mark Brown, Santa Maria, California

Greg Gillson, Hillsboro, OR

Matt Pike, Lacey WA

Sam Smith, Austin.Tx.

James McKay, Mesa, AZ

Sam Attia, Calgary, Alberta

Elaine F Lauer, Elk Grove, CA

Hannah Nadel, Fresno, CA

Ray Hasey, Yuba City, CA

Micahel Hilchey, Albuquerque, NM

Nila Petty, Saint Louis, MO

Leighton Reid, Orange, VA

Chris Sloan, Nashville, TN

Adam Nisbett, St. James, MO

Matthew Schneider, Silverton, OR

Barbara Boucher Owens, Georgetown, TX

Gerald J Brow, Cedar Michigan

Robert Lengacher, Tallahassee, FL

Chris Benson, Rochester, MN

Erich Druskat, Las Cruces, New Mexico

Josh Shramo, Dillon, CO.

Adrian Azpiroz, St. Louis, MO

Adriana Rodriguez, St. Louis, MO

tim hochstetler, millersburg oh

Blue Rubinstein, New York, NY

Jim Kopitzke, Mesa AZ

Michael Todd, McKenzie, TN

Mary Austin, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Francesc Jutglar, Cardedeu, Spain

Jennifer Perry, Deerfield, NH

Robert Doster, Albuquerque, NM

James P. Smith, Amherst, MA

Pilaiporn Mundall, Yilan, Taiwan

Erik Mundall, Yilan, TAIWAN

Malia Wenny, Galena, Illinois

Jack Gibbons, Galena, IL

Eddie Mundall, Klamath Falls, OR

Glenn Werner, Beaufort, SC

Haynes Werner, Beaufort, SC

Robin Womack, Beaufort, SC

Kathryn Holm, Tamuning, Guam

Bobby Walsh, Valencia, CA

Marcus Mundall, Williamsport, MD

Eleanor Murphy, Rockland,MA

Laurina Mundall, Klamath Falls, OR

How Did You Compare?

As stated in the quiz rules, answers must consist simply of the Common or English name exactly as it appears in the ABA Checklist.

The following list shows the number of submissions for each species guessed.